Giant Bombcast 02/25/2014

I agree with Brad, that shit is no longer very interesting to me. I'm getting a little tired of just shooting dudes in the face over and over again. That said, Brad could have done a better job articulating his point.

I particularly enjoyed the bit where Jeff and Brad performed a dramatic interpretation of a forum debate.

#TeamJeff

I don't think he is questioning the level of skill and cooperation involved in those games on a high level, but at least from my point of view whenever I go into those games the options in front of me is "which weapon do you wanna shot the enemy with" (most of which are all machine guns in modern shooters, yes, I'm no weapon expert). While playing some other games like he mentioned I can do other stuff to help my team (that might also involve some shooting, but it's not the focus of said class).
Nothing wrong with games that focus on shooting and working together like that, but for me personally I find it boring and I think a lot of people are feeling this way.

Video games are serious business. SERIOUS! I love hearing silly debates / arguments. I just don't understand how or why people get so bent out of shape, lol. I agree regarding the route they took the PVZ franchise is pretty odd. However, the game itself is actually pretty fun, well, if you're into that stuff I guess. It would have been awesome if there was a campaign, but at least the game is somewhat cheaper.

Also, loved the Faith No More reference, lol.

aw yiss new bombcast

#TeamBrad

That argument was some of the funniest shit I ever heard.

Brad's 100% right. And Jeff is clearly having sexual relations with his Titan.

Of course there were, and I like hearing a strong, well-argued debate. This was not one of those. Ryan was good at recognizing the breaking point when a debate gets tired or loses the thread. He'd ask a question that would help someone reframe their argument or better articulate their point, or just kill the conversation if he thought it wasn't going anywhere.

Exactly.

@toro Way to go trying to argue a completely different point than what I was making.

Also, let's not get crazy. I don't know why you're name-dropping CS here, since CoD isn't even in the same league, skill-wise. It can't be to sell the numbers they do.

That didn't even register with me at the time, but that is really good now that I get it.

Drew's jokes are operating at a higher level than the other guys are used to but hopefully they'll get used to it over time.

boy do I have the shooter for you brad renegade x just hit open beta

Great I was one of the fucks who pissed Jeff off on twitter. :( I feel bad I was really not having any problems on bf4.

Love the commercials :) Gets the bombcast off on the right note.

A lot of wires got crossed in the PvZ argument:

1) opinion of the game

2) opinion of Titanfall

3) class based vs all lone-wolf game types

4) some deep-ass meta conversation about the GiantBomb totem pole

In the first three, I agree with Brad. I like shooter mechanics that force teamwork. Simple

I had fun teasing out subliminal commentary on the argument during the rest of the podcast.

I think Jeff got a little too personal. Fucking terrifying, actually. Kept wishing he apologize to Brad if not on air then off.

Maybe Jeff thought that a lot of the audience will be up in arms against Brad for implying that PvZ is more deserving of love than Titanfall and tried to head off the furor by jumping all over Brad, but it went far beyond making the necessary point. Yes, Titanfall is hype. But Brad loves working as a team. GB is a team, right? Or is it The Jeff Gerstmann Experience?

You are being ignorant if you think toro's argument was totally off topic or completely different from what you were arguing. You straight up said that games like call of duty and titanfall are just "mindless instant gratification" which not only sounds pretentious but also makes it very clear that you don't believe those games require much skill so his comment was most definitely on topic.

@slindz: Dude. True Detective is the greatest.

@spartan3: that'll learn ya. You fuck.

(can't you see this bombcast is TEARING US APART???!!!!)

@roboculus92 said:

The only ones being ignorant are you guys. Whether I think CoD and Titanfall are shallow games or not(Hint: They are) was besides the point, but of course you fanboys are going to come in here and pointlessly defend it while ignoring the rest of the post that actually matters containing the point I was making.

I really don't care if you think that makes me pretentious or not, it's called an opinion. Deal with it. It also still doesn't change the fact that both CoD and Titanfall really don't have any interesting side/support roles to play that involve much more than basic aiming+shooting with different weapons.

Totally agree with Brad on this one.

I call Titanfall a Source-as-fuck looking game because it looks Source-as-fuck. I can also see and say this about Unreal-engine games and I always do. Same with Quake-based engines.

Just not with Gamebryo, outside of the shit Bethesda does that is a hella variable engine that is hard to identify. You won't believe where it's been over the years.

e: March I'm quite certain will have the Xbone selling better than the PS4, thanks to Titanfall and moneyhatting it and spending Kinect-like money marketing it. Half a billion on Kinect launch = of course it sells decently. COD games have always had ads that make it look like it's only on the 360 or Xbone in the UK, of course it sells mainly on those platforms. If the PS4 outsells the Xbone in March despite Titanfall selling well, if the 360 TF ends up 60fps and close to 720p, I'll be laughing.

WOW!!! For a few moments Shoemaker lost his shit!!!!

That was not nearly as heated an argument as everyone is making it out to be. We're all nerds, and everyone here has gotten into a shouting match with their friends about videogames.

Brad's stubbornness widely using reductive logic, color me surprised. I guess Diablo is right click then loot game, Platforms are go left press A, Starcraft Ctrl+A left click.

It is the Jeff Gerstmann Experience!!!

Man, all of that Castlevania stuff sure is a hot mess of bullshit.

brad's right

Jeff needs to let Brad have an opinion.

@lukeweizer: I enjoyed that whole thing immensely if only because it nostalgically reminded me of Ryan pissing on Brad. :P

I think you're both kinda crazy. The Last Of Us had fairly simple stealth but at the same time it really isn't a stealth game. Stealth is there and works well enough to be tense and exciting but most enemy encounters seem to be designed to end in a fight, playing through that game using nothing but stealth seems mad. The clicker only stealth parts could be frustrating but I only really remember two of them and they weren't that bad

I didn't think much of the argument that happened but this here seemed pretty strange to me. I don't really understand why Jeff would get so pissed off because some people responded to a tweet from him talking about bugs with BF4 by talking about their own experience with bugs in the game....Maybe needs to watch the talk Patrick gave...

Know what? Good. I'm glad there was some heated discussion on a non-GOTY bombcast for once. It's been a while. People acting like they pulled knives on each other or it broke the podcast. Better this than the one-minded consensus that Stealth games are inherently terrible or whatever.

Yeah you're definitely not being ignorant by just labeling people as fanboys because they happen to be not shitting on the game. Whatever, you're too narrow-minded about this so I'm done arguing.

Oh shit! Brad & Jeff are about to get into a knife fight over this class based shooter vs COD style shooter debate.

I was laughing while working during the PVZ conversation. I agree with Brad BTW

It doesn't matter who was right during the PvZ discussion. Brad qualified his opinion regarding horde modes versus conventional deathmatches as his opinion and only his opinion from the start and Jeff came off like a huge douche. I know Jeff can be a hothead sometimes but that was embarrassing. It was just unprofessional. I really hope he apologized for that at some point.

I'm kinda with Brad, he made a pretty good point.

You kids should get off the internet.

I don't even have to listen to the podcast to know that I agree with Brad in the PvZ debate. Looking forward to hearing it though. :P

Brad...

I think Jeff "lost" that argument because he picked it for no reason. He is usually pretty argumentative with Brad on a regular basis and I know they are friends, I'm not saying it's the fucking end of the world but Brad clearly stated his preference and Jeff tried to take him to task on it for real no reason. It happens every once in a while with Jeff but I don't mind, it makes for interesting conversation.

Team Jeff. I don't think you can take this incident on it's own...it likely built up over time. Brad can get a bit too ego-y (huh?) and acts high and mighty when it comes to having a "personal preference" for the hardcore strategy games. His arrogance will likely diminish as he grows older but in the meantime sometimes being put in your place (even if for an arguable reason) helps maintain an even keel.

This'll be good for both of them in the long run, but make no mistake. Jeff reached his breaking point as a result of Brad's attitudes over time.

Wait, THAT was the argument everyone in these comments is talking about? That was the kind of conversation that I've had countless times with friends and wasn't nearly as bad as everyone made it sound.

VINNAAAAY

Serious video game arguments. I get it.

1. I disagree with the fact that Brad has an opinion.

2. You don't have the opinion you think you do Brad, let me tell you why.

3. Because I like different things, and you are crazy.

4. I am the internet.

I do enjoy a nice Faith No More reference.

Totally agree. After all the comments I expected something crazy. That wasn't a big deal at all. As usual, the internet takes something minor and blows it up. Sigh.

I think what everyone is trying to say is that some people are getting tired of having "shoot that guy" be the only interaction they have with a game world. I've felt it too, which is why I like horde modes, action adventure games, and other non-shooter genres.

It's a bummer to me to play a game like Bioshock Infinite and see an absurdly detailed, beautiful world begging for exploration. A world of great stories and endless possibilities, and then find out my only way to interact with that world is to shoot people (and in BI's case, loot stuff too).

It's the same reason it took me well over three months to peck away at Killzone on Vita. Because after a while I just got bored with the gameplay loop (which wasn't even a loop, more like a straight line--"kill all dudes").

That is what Brad was getting at--I think. To him, playing a game with more to do than just shooting other guys--regardless of the skills it takes to do that--is just more interesting for him.

Then Jeff had to have the final word...and it dragged on and on. And it made me once again wish that Vinny was the host. Vinny, Drew and Patrick have an enthusiasm, fascination and excitement for and about video games that is refreshing. Brad seems to feel "eh" about everything (his answer to most things is "maybe") and Jeff feels so strongly about his own opinions that he aggressively tries to make other people share them.

I don't want to bitch about 3 free hours of weekly entertainment, but thought I'd leave some honest feedback: I think that maybe, after 5+ years, it's time for some new blood in the GB office. New perspectives and interests are good. If not that, then screw the streak and take a month or two off. Just don't do the podcast for a bit. If it makes for a tighter, more enthusiastic, more entertaining show, I'm sure the community would be cool with a break.